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4E5 students make paper vehicles

6 Nov 2014

Each team was asked to make a short video about the paper bike process. The paper bike challenge involves building a 'vehicle' (the term can be interpreted very liberally!) that can accommodate a person, keeping them at least 15 cm from the ground at any stage, and which is powered/driven by another person. The vehicle must then navigate a short course, at the end of which is a bucket full of plastic balls. The team must retrieve this, without either member directly touching the bucket or balls, and bring it back to base. At this point, the team members must swap positions, within a 30 second window, before repeating the process. The team which completes the course fastest is the winner - with a time penalty applied for any dropped balls.
The purpose of the exercise to get familiar with concepts used in this course - such as critical function and critical experience prototypes, as well as developing teamwork and communication skills.

Team Dromone made their video to appeal to future 4E5 students. Here is what they had to say:

"This module is about working together in a team to create innovative design products, but to be a productive and engaged team it is important to remember the element of fun and comradery. We felt it was imperative to use our video to communicate the fun side of our project and how well we gelled as a team! And how that in turn allowed us to be more effective. In our video we conveyed the different processes used throughout the project, including ideation, decision making and construction. Along with this we wanted to show how the use of our CEP helped us develop our design. All teams shot the race well, however we decided to film it in a different way by using imaginative camera angles and action shots. Or video communicated our project, the process of how we came to the end product and showed the idea in action. Overall we think that future 4E5 students would be intrigued by this video! "

Team SAP made their video to appeal to future 4E5 students. Here is what they had to say:

"It was important to convey the key aspects of the project while also displaying an element of fun. The video opens with the design process, indicating the need for careful planning and design. It then moves past to the materials gathering and the initial construction of the vehicle itself. There is a good use of speed in this video, as the footage is put into fast forward mode to convey the passage of time as the work that must go into a project like this. However, it also highlights that this was in itself a fun, team-building, rapport-building exercise from which the group dynamic forms. There are some fun shots with the camera, frustration is highlighted but in a light-hearted manner as there was never a point where tensions ran high. Almost every shot has two or more people, as this we feel is best message we can get across to potential students, the idea of the team and how 4E5 is about individuals coming together and using their individual strengths for the group. There is a lot of variation throughout in terms of tasks being performed and by whom. The video itself ends with the race and a group photo. This was important again to highlight a sense of fun, but also to show that you are always working towards something and that everyone contributes."